


How I Spent my Summer Vacation By Buffy Anne Summers or Trouble Just Seems to Find Me

by Noturbaby



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural
Genre: Gen, episode based
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-10
Updated: 2011-03-16
Packaged: 2017-10-16 20:55:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/169244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noturbaby/pseuds/Noturbaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buffy has run away from Sunnydale to L.A. after killing Angel.  John Winchester has parked the boys in L.A. while he and other hunters pick up the slack in Sunnydale.  While she’s incognito, Sam and Dean get to know Anne. However, trouble seems to find them whether she’s Anne the Waitress or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Based on the BtVS episode Anne, it takes place during the summer between season 2 & 3 of Buffy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Title: How I Spent my Summer Vacation by Buffy Anne Summers Or Trouble Just Seems to Find Me

Rating: PG- 13 language

Characters: Buffy aka Anne the waitress, Lily, Rickie, Ken, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, John Winchester, Angel and other BtVS cast, and a few ocs. No real pairings as it's mostly a case fic.

Words: approx 3000 each chapter

 

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Dean Winchester could not tolerate much on an empty stomach. Therefore, when the waitress at Helen's Kitchen screwed up his order, he blew up.

"It's not rocket science, sweetheart." The young man's irritation was difficult for the waitress to miss. "Every crappy diner lays out their tables the same way, starting at the kitchen. Tables one through six are yours," he said through gritted teeth as he pointed to the tables. "We're table five." She looked hopelessly chastised by his rebuke. "I mean, come on. Do I look like a fruit, yogurt, and granola guy to you?" On the verge of tears, she shook her head taking the plate from his hand. "Good. My brother and I have been waiting for over a half hour for our food. Do I need to go out back and slaughter the pig, or maybe go to the kitchen and fry up the eggs and bacon myself? Or do you think you can do your job and go get our orders?" The waitress nodded and scurried back through the kitchen door. She only had the job for a couple of days; she could not afford a scene and risk losing it.

"You don't have to be such a dick!" His tablemate reprimanded Dean in a harsh whisper.

"Whatever, Sam, I'm starving. How hard is it to get a couple eggs and some bacon?" Dean slumped back in his seat.

A moment later, the waitress reappeared with their orders. "Two eggs, extra bacon, two eggs and wheat toast." Her voice was quiet and trembling as she placed the orders in front of the brothers.

"Finally, that wasn't too hard, was it, Anne?" Dean asked as he looked at her nametag. Then, Sam and Dean looked at each other, and exchanged plates.

The waitress's only reply was to tear their check from her pad. Dean raised a brow, and shook his coffee cup at her. "More coffee, too, 'kay Annie?" She nodded and walked away, hiding her exasperation. She wasn't surprised to find they didn't leave much of a tip.

 

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At the end of her shift, the waitress retired to her tiny studio in the Armada Apartments. Her body ached and she came to the realization that being a waitress and living on her own was harder than she thought it would be. She carefully hung her uniform in the meager bathroom, hoping she could get one more day's wear from it. Then she crawled into bed, praying sleep would allow her to forget the entire day. Unfortunately, sleeping meant dreaming and dreaming meant being Buffy again.

This time her dreams took her to the beach at sunset. As the gentle breeze blew back her hair, Buffy felt strong arms wrap around her waist. She inclined her head to look up at Angel. "How did you find me?"

Angel tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and kissed her check. "If I was blind, I would see you."

Buffy covered his hand with hers at her waist and closed her eyes. She embraced his arms tightly to her whispering, "Stay with me."

Angel leaned closer to her ear. "Forever. That's the whole point. I'll never leave. Not even if you kill me."

Buffy woke with a start and looked around her room to get her bearings. Ever since she was forced to kill Angel, her dreams would not let her forget her life as the slayer.

 

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The two guys were back the next morning, but they made a point of not sitting in her section. Buffy caught the older one watching her and shaking his head. The next time she looked their way she noticed that they kept looking around, as if they were looking for someone or maybe another exit.

"I can't get over the number of homeless people around here," Sam said around a mouthful of food.

Dean nodded. "Yeah. Makes me grateful for what we got. It's not much, but we always have a roof over our heads."

"I guess, but don't you think it's weird, Dean? I've never these kinds of homeless people. They're either really old or teens. There's almost no one in between and no families."

"Sam, I'm telling you, it's because we're in L.A.. Kids run away from home and get here thinking they're gonna being the next big movie star. When that doesn't happen, they have to get a real job or end up on the street. Look at the waitress we had yesterday. I bet she left Iowa planning to star on Dawson's Creak or some shit. When that didn't work out she got a waitressing job." The brothers looked at her and Dean shook his head. "I mean it's pretty obvious she hasn't done this before."

Later, as the Winchesters made their way back to their motel, an elderly homeless woman bumped into Dean. "Oh, hey, sorry about that, ma'am. Are you all right?"

"I'm no one," she mumbled.

"Okay," Dean replied, confused by her answer.

"Do you need something? Do you need some help?" Sam asked the woman.

She looked around blindly. "I'm no one," she mumbled again and stumbled into an alleyway.

The brothers exchanged looks as the woman stumbled off. "All right, well, that was weird," Dean admitted.

"The same thing happened to me yesterday," Sam said sounding concerned as he looked around. "An old homeless guy said 'I'm nobody' when I asked him if he needed help." Sam's eyes followed in the direction the woman had gone. "Why would they say that?"

"You got me, kid. But, I remember hearing somewhere that most of the older homeless have some sort of mental illness."

Sam looked at his brother with amusement. "Dean, that 'somewhere'," he made finger quotes for emphasis, "where you heard that was school. Maybe if you would have paid attention while you were there, Dad wouldn't be making you get your G.E.D. this summer."

Dean rolled his eyes shoved his brother and said, "Shut up, Sam."

 

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Nearly a week passed before Buffy saw them again. 'Anne' had been demoted to the dinner shift. Since the breakfast rush was the diner's busiest time, the manager decided she would be better off in the evening, when she would have less of a chance of angering the regulars.

They sat in a different section, taking a booth near the door, but 'lucky' for her, it was her section, again. She almost begged to switch tables with Desiree, when the younger guy caught her eye and smiled. She smiled back before she could stop herself, and then approached them to take their order.

As cheerfully as she could she asked, "What can I get you this evening?"

"Double bacon cheeseburger with fries," the older one answered, as he replaced the menu in its holder attempting to hide his cringe at seeing her again.

"I'll have the grilled chicken and mashed potatoes," the younger one replied.

"And to drink?"

"Two cokes."

The younger one looked hopefully to the other one, "Strawberry shake?"

With a shake of the head, he was denied. "No, cokes have free refills, Sam."

"Okay," Sam sighed.

The waitress surprised them by not only getting the orders right, but bringing their food relatively quickly. She smirked at the older one, "You didn't even have to go out back and slaughter your own cow."

The comment made Sam smile smugly at his brother. "Yeah, looks like you finally got the hang of being a waitress." Dean remarked covering his fries with ketchup.

At the end of the meal, Buffy returned to the table and placed a small strawberry shake in front of the younger one. The older one gave her a wary look. "What?" she asked with a shrug. "He ate all his green beans and we just have to throw away the extra if we make too big of a shake." She shrugged, "Last shake I made was just way too big." Sam was beaming as he tore the wrapper off the straw.

The waitress looked to the older one, "Can I get you anything else?"

Dean shook his head, but then looked at her in hope. "You have any pie?"

Buffy nodded. "Apple and peach. But I'm not guaranteeing there are actual apples or peaches in either one."

Dean grinned at her honesty. "Okay, Annie, I'll risk the apple."

A moment later, she set a warm slice of apple pie à la mode in front of him, earning a completely surprised smile in return. "Wow, someone's really working for a tip."

Buffy bit her lip before saying anything that would threaten the promised tip; she simply tore the check from her pad and left it on the table.

Buffy walked up to the next table where a young couple was sitting. They were too into each other to notice Anne so she cleared her throat. "You guys ready?"

With his eyes not leaving the girl next to him, the guy answered, "Yeah. I think we're good. Um …'Anne'."

Anne took out her pad and pen. "What'll you have?"

Dumping a handful of change onto the table the guy asked, "What can we get with this?"

His girlfriend smiled at Anne, "Can we get cake?"

Before the waitress could answer the guy shook his head, "Lily, we gotta eat healthy. We can't have cake." He turned back to Anne. "Can we get pie?"

"We've got a peach pie, and that should be just enough to cover it," she answered as she wrote up their order.

A moment later, Anne delivered a slice of pie and two forks to the couple. "Here you are. Peach pie or at least a decent imitation of a peach."

Lily squinted at Anne when she set the pie in front of them. "Hey, do I know you?"

Buffy looked down, "I don't think so."

Lily tilted her head in consideration. "Really? Where're you from?"

"Uh, no where. Here's the check," Buffy replied hurriedly tearing the check from her pad.

 

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As the Winchesters left the diner, a curvaceous Hispanic girl approached them and handed Dean a flyer. "Come to a rave tonight?" she asked with a flirty tilt of her head.

Sam scoffed but Dean's eye roamed all over the girl. "You going?"

"Course I am, baby." She pouted her heavily glossed lip.

Dean stuffed the flyer in his back pocket. "Then so am I, beautiful."

She smiled brightly. "Cool. Tell them Rosalita invited you, 'kay baby?"

"Sure thing, Rosalita. I'll see you later."

After walking half a block and Dean turning to check out Rosalita four more times, Sam mocked him, "Since when do you go to raves?"

"Since girls like that are going to be there, Sammy." Dean, again, looked back at Rosalita in her too small top and too tight shorts. Sam sighed and rolled his eyes.

 

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"Hey, Anne," Sam waved to the waitress as he passed her in the passageway before coming to a surprised halt. "Anne?" The waitress kept walking. "Anne?"

Blinking a few times, Buffy stopped. "Oh, hi."

"You live in this dump, too?" Sam asked.

She looked around, nodded, and gave him half shrug. "Yeah, I guess."

"You just get off work?" Sam asked as he fell in walking next to her.

She rubbed her neck, "Yep."

"You shouldn't walk home alone. It's pretty dangerous around here," Sam warned her.

"Thanks, but I, can handle myself," she said quietly walking toward her studio apartment.

Sam studied her a moment, knowing that the girl had no idea how truly dangerous the area was. "Hey, I could walk you back at night, if you want."

She smiled half heartedly, and was about to say something in return, when they were interrupted by Dean turning the corner.

He had his arm draped around the shoulders of the curvaceous, bubbly, Rosalita. He was speaking quietly into her ear causing her to giggle. "Hey, Sammy!" Dean spoke loudly when he noticed his brother, "what's going on?" His eyes flashed to the waitress and back to his brother.

"Nothin'," Sam answered, "just ran into Anne. Making sure she gets in okay."

Dean nodded at the waitress who barely met his eyes before looking at the ground again. "That's my man," Dean said with a slap on Sam's arm as he led his girl passed them. "I'm heading to the rave with Rosalita. You sure you don't want to go?"

"Yeah, Dean, I'm positive."

Dean looked at Buffy. "How about you, Annie the waitress? You want to go to a rave? We can wait for you, if you want."

"Uh, no. Thanks anyway," Buffy replied quietly.

"Suit yourselves. Don't wait up!" he called over his shoulder. Rosalita giggled again and wrapped her arm tightly around Dean's waist.

Buffy looked over at Sam, "This is me, so, uh, thanks." She nodded slightly and pulled her door closed. Sam stared at her door for a moment wondering why she looked so depressed.

 

"Hey, Lily!" Rosalita yelled as she and Dean approached a crowd outside a warehouse. "I thought you and Rickie didn't have the cash for this." The girls exchanged a brief hug, then Rosalita grabbed Dean's arm.

"We didn't," Lily said, "but then Rickie donated blood at that clinic Javi told us about."

"Cool, I can't go back there for a few more days, so I worked out a deal with the guy running this. Lily, this is Dean."

"Hi Lily," Dean nodded as he was introduced.

"Hey, Dean. Rickie and Javi are around here somewhere," Lily replied with a smile. "Rosa looks like you and Javi were able to get a good crowd for tonight."

Rosalita looked at the group of people milling around the area and nodded. "Yeah, I hope that Charlie guy remembers to pay us for this."

Dean was about to ask what she was talking about when a man approached them. "Good evening, kids," he said as he handed them each a flyer. "My name is Ken. I'm with Family Home. We're a group that helps kids like you."

Instantly suspicious, Dean asked, "Like us?"

"Yes, like you. Kids that grew up too fast. Kids without a home. We can help you get back on track."

"Don't worry about us, Padre," Rosalita giggled. "We're on our own kinda track."

Ken nodded in resignation. "Well if you need anything, a warm meal, a place to stay, please remember the Family Home. We're a safe haven in a neighborhood like this." Lily watched in interest as Ken walked over to another group of kids and handed them some of his flyers.

 

The techno music was definitely not something Dean enjoyed, he contemplating taking a gun to the many speakers or even stabbing himself in the ears. In addition, his father had taught him better than to take any pills that he was offered. However, Rosalita's tiny outfit and the way she would grind against him, Dean found himself having a good time. After what seemed like hours, they met up with Javier and Rickie. They both seemed a little high and very happy.

Noticing her boyfriend's condition Lily was concerned. "You didn't spend all our money did you?"

Rickie swayed. "No, baby, I still got some left." He held out his hand containing a few crumpled bills.

When Lily grabbed the money, Dean saw the tattoos they each had. "How much did the tat set you back?"

Lily and Rickie beamed as they put their fore arms together so their tattoos would form a heart with each other's names inside. "Doesn't matter. It was totally worth it. Right, baby?"

Lily kissed Rickie's cheek. "Right. Whatta ya think, Dean?" Holding her arm next to Rickie's so Dean could see how the tattoos formed hearts with their names inside.

"That's nice. Nice and permanent."

"Well, yeah, that's the idea." Rickie kissed Lily then. "We're forever."

"Yeah, I get you all the good hook ups," Javier chimed in. "Tats, food, place to stay some E. Whatever you need, Javi's the man!" Javier swayed unsteadily as he made his declaration. Subsequently, he leaned in to get his sister's attention, "Did you get the money from Charlie?" Rosalita smiled and gave him a couple of bills. "Cool. I thought we might have to eat at the shelter."

Rosalita shook her head. "No way, Javi! This should be enough money for a couple days."

Javier seemed to swerve in place. "Who's this guy?" he asked finally acknowledging Dean.

"I'm Dean."

Javier leaned close and squinted at Dean. "You with my sister?"

"I'm with Rosa."

"Cool. That's cool."

Rosa giggled at her intoxicated brother and then turned to Dean. "You going to stay with me or are you going back to your place?"

"What do you think?" Dean replied with an obvious leer to which Rosalita responded by pulling him down for a kiss.

 

In the darkened alley, just behind an abandoned tire store, two men stepped from the shadows. Four elderly homeless men followed them. "Go," one of the men said shoving the vagrants. "You are no one."

"I am no one," the vagrants repeated.

The two men morphed into teenagers and walked towards the crowd of young people leaving the rave. "Hey, wanna go to an epic after party?"

The inebriated Javier looked at his sister currently attached to Dean then at Rickie and Lily. "Sure, man."

"Cool. Come with us."


	2. Chapter 2

Buffy burst through the library doors. "Giles!" The room was silent. At first glance, she appeared to be alone. Then, she spotted the pool of blood. Silently, she crept forward.

"Looks inviting, doesn't it? Don't worry, you'll be adding to it soon enough."

Buffy knew that voice. "You're dead. I destroyed you."

The Master templed his fingers. "Yes, funny thing death. Seems it's not as permanent as you may think." He snapped his fingers. "Children? Come join me. The Slayer has finally arrived. Once her blood has fused with ours we will be invincible!"

From the shadows, Darla stepped forward; followed by Drusilla and Spike; finally, Angelus stepped into the light.

"Angel?"

"Close, I was Angel. Then, you had to come into my life. You and your pathetic school girl crush exterminated my soul." Angelus dragged a finger through the blood then sucked it clean. "Delicious. Young blood always is."

"Bring in the others!" Darla ordered.

Now different vampires dragged in Xander and Willow, both struggling against their captors. "Buffy, help us!" Willow pleaded.

"Don't let them do this to us!" Xander shouted with fear in his eyes.

"She can't help you. She is not the slayer any longer. She's just a waitress," the Master taunted. "Now be good little humans and die quietly."

"No!"

Buffy woke with a scream. Panting, she got her bearings and realized it was just another nightmare.

 

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It was almost dawn when Dean made it back to the motel room. He took a look at his anxious little brother before collapsing into his bed. "Dude," he croaked, voice hoarse from shouting over music for hours, "you should've been there."

"Tryin' to sleep here, Dean."

"Right, sorry." Dean shrugged out of his clothes. "But, seriously, Sam, no one cared about ID's or anything so if there's another one, you should totally come along."

"Sure, I can see the two of us at a rave. Sounds like fun."

Dean snorted a laugh at his brother's sarcasm. "The music totally sucked. I wanted to rip my ears off, but you would have fun. I'd just go to watch out for you."

"Right. What about Rosalita?"

Dean smiled. "Mmm. Yeah, well, she and I don't need to be at a rave to do what we want to do."  
"Ugh, dude, I so don't want to hear it."

Dean chuckled and rolled over to get some much-needed sleep.

 

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The next night, right as the diner was closing, Sam and Dean arrived and took the booth nearest the door. "Sorry, fellas, we're closing," a man called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, we know. We're just waiting for Anne so we can walk her home," Sam answered as Buffy walked out of the kitchen looking surprised at his words.

"Anne? You know these guys?" the cook asked her.

Buffy met their eyes briefly before she nodded, "Yeah, they live by me."

"Okay, then. Have a good night."

Dean slid out of the booth and held the door open for her to walk through. "Thanks," she said barely above a whisper. The three of them walked in silence for a block, then she turned to Sam, "I told you, you didn't have to walk me home."

"I know, but we had nothing better to do," Sam said with a small smile and a shrug. Dean just rolled his eyes. He had plenty of other things to do, namely hooking up with Rosalita again. "So, how was work today?" Sam asked hoping to keep up the conversation.

Buffy answered with a shrug, "Okay, I guess."

When they got to the small complex they lived in, Dean quickened his pace. "Alright, so you're home, all safe and sound. Sammy, I'll see you later, alright?" He spoke over his shoulder as he began to walk off.

"Wait, you're taking off?" Sam asked surprised.

"Dude," Dean inclined his head toward the girl leaning against the fence across the lot from them.

"Oh, right. Later," Sam grumbled to his brother's back. Buffy and Sam watched as Rosalita jumped into Dean's arms and wrapped her legs around him.

Buffy looked away quickly in embarrassment. "Well, thanks for walking me home, Sammy."

"It's Sam," he automatically corrected her.

"Oh, sorry."

"It's okay," he said slumping his shoulders, "Dean still calls me Sammy, but, it's kinda annoying."

Buffy nodded, "Okay, I won't call you that anymore, then. 'Night."

Before Sam could say anything else, Buffy shut her door.

 

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Buffy heard them before she saw them. The brothers must be the ones using the other machines Buffy thought, putting her clothes in a basket, as she waited to move to the dryer.

"Dude, it's disgusting."

"Shut up, Sam. I know, alright."

"You look like you were attacked by a freaking vampire."

"Very funny. Let's just," Dean stopped speaking when he saw Buffy in the small laundry room. "Oh, hey," he nodded, though he immediately turned away from her.

Buffy looked at him and Sam. "Hey," her voice was barely audible over the machines.

"Hey, Anne," Sam said brightly, "we'll be out of here in no time and you can have the machines." Her only reply was a nod. "Dean's got to get to bed. Now that he's a blood sucking creature of the night, sunlight could kill him." Sam laughed until Dean shoved him.

"I'm not a vampire, you dick," Dean snapped, but he was turning red.

"Vampire?" Buffy asked. Dean made a face and turned to her. That's when she saw the large black hickeys on his neck. "Oh, I see."

Sam broke into another fit of laughter as he noticed his brother reddening more. Dean's hand went to his neck and he rolled his eyes. "Kid thinks he's hilarious."

Buffy grabbed her basket of clothes. "Well, at least I don't have to spend the afternoon sharpening stakes." She tried for a serious expression, but it looked more like a near smile. Sam grinned, happy that she joined him in the teasing. Dean's eyes widened at her for a moment before he scowled and went to the dryers to remove their clothes.

"So, like I was saying before you got all Van Helsing on me, have you seen Javier or not? Rosalita said he hadn't been around since the night of the rave."

Sam shook his head. "No. But, maybe he went to that shelter you were talking about. I mean if they don't have any money he might go there. He can't donate blood every day."

Dean nodded as he thought that over. "Good point. Maybe, I'll check it out."

 

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"Welcome, welcome. So glad you could join us at the Family Home." Ken smiled warmly at the Winchesters. "Please, sit, join us for worship and a warm meal."

"Thanks," Dean replied as they took seats at a long communal table. "I have been on my own for so long, it's hard to remember what a family meal is supposed to be like."

"You and your friends are always welcome here," Ken added as he handed a large bowl of rolls to Sam. "Stay as long as you like. If you need a bed for the night, I'm sure we can find room for you."

"Thank you, Ken, but we have a few more days before we lose our apartment. We may have to take you up on it by the end of the week, unfortunately."

Ken bowed. "The invitation is always there," he said before moving on to get more food.

Dean scanned the room. "I don't see Javier," he whispered to Sam. "After we eat, let's doing some looking in those other rooms."

As Sam checked the dorm rooms, Dean thought he would try the direct approach with Ken. "Hey, Ken, I was wondering if you had seen my friend, Javier. He's the one who recommended this place."

"I'm sorry young man, I don't think I've seen Javier for three or four days," Ken answered with a frown. "He was a troubled young man, into drugs a bit if I recall correctly. I hope nothing has happened to him. These streets can be dangerous."

"Thanks, we will be careful on our way home," Dean said as Sam joined them.

 

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Back on the street, Sam described to Dean what he found in the back rooms. "The dorms were empty. It looks like no one sleeps there. But, at the far end, there was a room that had a pool in it."

Dean looked surprised. "Really? A pool?"

"Not a swimming pool, it looked almost like tar."

Dean shook his head at the absurdity of a tar pool, but pointed to an abandoned building. "Rosalita and Javier are staying here. Let's see if she's found anything."

"They're squatting in an old tire store?" Sam asked as they made their way through the back door.

"It has running water," Dean replied with a shrug.

They climbed some stairs and Dean called out, "Rosa? You here?" He pushed a door open, but no one was in the room. "Rosa?"

Sam took a quick look around. "I don't think she left for good. There's a lot of stuff here. Clothes, some jewelry, make up. Girls don't take off without that stuff, right?"

Dean nodded at his brother's logic. "Good point." He found some paper and scribbled a note then placed it on her mattress. "Well if she's not too mad about how I've blown her off, maybe she'll call."

As the Winchesters left, Rickie stumbled into them. Forcing Dean to grab him and steady him before he fell backwards down the stairs. "Hey Rickie, careful man, you're going to get hurt."

Rickie faced them but his eyes were barely focused. "Thanks man."

"Yeah, no problem. Hey, have you seen Rosalita or Javier?"

"No, Rosa hasn't been around all day an' I haven't seen Javi in days." Rickie stumbled past them. "I think Rosa went to donate blood." He looked confused for a moment then nodded. "Yeah, her an' Lily were gonna do the blood thing today."

"Right. Tell her I stopped by, okay?"

Rickie nodded. "No problemo, man."

Once Rickie had stumbled away, Sam whispered to Dean. "What is that guy on?"

"A little bit of everything, I think," Dean replied. "Hey, let's go check out the blood bank."

Sam tilted his head in thought. "Look, if you're just trying to hook up with Rosalita again, I don't need to tag a long."

"After she practically scarred me? I don't think so," Dean huffed.

Sam chuckled. "Oh no, Dean Winchester is no longer perfect, what're the women of the world going to do?"

"I don't know about the rest of the world, but little Sammy Winchester is going to be feeling some major pain if he keeps talking." Dean shoved Sam playfully but hard enough to make him stumble. "I was thinking that since both Javi and Rosa have donated blood there, it might give us a lead."

Suddenly Sam remembered the time. "Dean, we're supposed to be at the diner. Anne gets off soon."

"Crap, that's right, you go. I'll check out the blood bank and meet you back at the room."

 

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When only Sam showed to walk her home, Buffy assumed Dean had another date with the 'vampire' Rosalita.

Sam chuckled when she mentioned it. "No, Dean was really annoyed about the way she marked him up." Sam shook his head, "I don't think he'll be seeing her anymore."

Buffy's brow's rose at that statement. "Really? I didn't think that sort of thing bothered guys."

"Well, it bothered Dean."

"Oh," Buffy replied quietly. Sam was grateful she didn't press him about Dean's whereabouts. He did not know how to explain that Dean was looking into the disappearance of kids their age.

As they walked the next block in silence, Buffy noticed how Sam kept looking around. "What are you looking for, Sam?" she asked after she looked around and noticed nothing unusual.

"Nothing. I mean, I'm hoping I won't see anything when I look around." Definitely not anything paranormal, he thought.

"Oh-kay," Buffy answered back slowly. Sam's paranoid actions were beginning to affect her.

Sam thought he needed give her a better reason for his actions. "Well, actually, I've never seen so many homeless people. Have you? I mean, I don't know where you're from, but it seems unusual to me."

Buffy became immediately cautious. Why was Sam asking questions about her background? "I guess I never noticed," she replied quietly, not wanting to give Sam any unnecessary information.

When they got to Buffy's door, she unlocked it and turned to Sam, "Thanks, Sam, but you really don't have to walk me home anymore."

"Anne, I told you, I don't mind and this isn't the safest neighborhood," Sam countered.

Buffy shook her head. "No. I mean, thanks, but my shift changed again and I'm back on the breakfast shift, so I won't be needing an escort home." She attempted to smile.

"Oh," Sam nodded. "Well, see ya around, I guess."

"Yeah, okay," Buffy shut her door behind her.

The blood bank was closed for the evening by the time Dean arrived. It seemed to be a normal blood bank; Dean noticed nothing out of the ordinary. The only fact he found interesting was that the blood bank, the tire store, and the shelter shared the same alley. Runaways probably went from the blood bank to the shelter for free food. He would come back in the morning, donate some blood and do some more looking around.

 

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Buffy hated being cooped up in her tiny studio apartment in the Armada Motel, but she hated interaction with others even more. After changing out of her uniform, Buffy decided walking to the convenience store for some food would give her something to do.

As Buffy waited to cross the street, a homeless man bumped into her. "I'm no one," the man mumbled as he stepped into traffic.

Buffy rushed into the street and pushed the man out of the path of an oncoming car. The car skidded to a stop but not in time to avoid hitting Buffy. The driver and other pedestrians rushed to her aid, but Buffy got up and brushed herself off. "I'm okay," she reassured those gathered around her.

"Let me take you to a hospital," begged the driver.

Buffy shook her head. "I'm fine." She walked away as quickly as she could, hoping she had not drawn too much attention.

A voice called, "Anne?" but Buffy did not notice it. When the voice called, "Buffy?" Buffy turned in surprise to find Lily running up to her. "I thought that was you. Are you okay?"

Buffy nodded and kept walking, though she reluctantly allowed Lily to join her. "Do you remember me?" Lily asked. "We met in Sunnydale? I was with a group of kids that wanted to become vampires, remember? My name was Chanterelle, then. You saved me, you saved all of us."

Buffy nodded slightly. "Yeah, I remember. You're Lily, now, right?"

"Yeah, that's right and you're Anne, now." The girls walked in silence to the end of the block. "Um, do you have any money?"

Buffy hesitated for a second. "Uh, no I don't really have any extra cash right now, Lily. If you need…"

"No, I don't need anything. I just wanted to know if you wanted to go to a rave or something."

"No, thanks. Not really my thing."

"Okay. You want to do something else? We could, uh," Lily drifted off and looked around. "Sorry, Anne, it's just that Rickie is getting high all the time and my friend, Rosalita has disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

Lily shrugged. "Or taken off. I just am looking for someone to hang out with."

"Sorry, Lily, I'm not very good company."

"It's okay. I guess should try to find Rickie anyway. Later, Buf- I mean Anne."

 

Neither of the girls had noticed Dean watching them from the opposite corner. Once the girls went their separate ways, Dean rushed to catch up with Lily. "Lily! Hey! Wait up."

"Hey, Dean," Lily greeted him with a smile. "Have you seen Rosalita?"

Dean frowned. Lily had been his last hope for finding the missing girl. "No, but I saw Rickie at your place. He said you and Rosa were donating blood."

Lily nodded. "Yeah, well, I didn't go. I hate needles." Lily shuddered.

Dean stopped walking and rubbed at his mouth in thought. "Lily, how do you know that girl? You guys go to school together or something?"

"Uh, Anne? No, I just know her from the diner."

Dean smirked. Lily was a horrible liar. "Oh, right. When I saw you talking to her I thought maybe you knew her."

As Dean and Lily arrived at the corner, another homeless man bumped into them. "Hey, you okay, man?" Dean asked the him.

"I'm no one," the man muttered as he stumbled into the wall.

Dean stared at the man; there was something familiar about him, but Dean could not remember where he had seen him before. "Lily," he whispered, "do you recognize that guy?"

"No," Lilly shook her head, "but Javier had a shirt kinda like that. That's probably what you recognize."


	3. Chapter 3

The Armada Motel was not luxurious, but it did have a small courtyard with a sitting area. Buffy sat on the small bench and thought about her life back in Sunnydale. She missed the fresh air and her friends, but mostly she missed her mom. Buffy fought the tears forming in her eyes and wondered what her mom was doing, wondered if her mom missed her, or if her mom would ever forgive her.

 

Running into Lily had not only brought up unwanted memories, it had distracted Buffy from getting food. Sighing, she made her way to the vending area on the other side of the courtyard. Drowning her sorrows in salty snacks or chocolate seemed to be her only options.

 

"Hey, there little lady, how are you tonight?" the overweight motel manager leered at Buffy as she purchased a soda from the machine.

"Fine," Buffy mumbled.

"You look fine." Buffy bristled at his reply. She dropped some coins into the snack machine and bought some chips. "Hmm, wasting money on junk food when you couldn't make rent. Not really the best decision a girl like you should make. You got your back rent? You know the next month's is due on Friday."

"Um, sorry, but I don't have that much money right now," Buffy mumbled. "Could I pay all of it on Friday?"

The man leered at her, "I'm sure we can come up with another form of payment." He took a step towards her, blocking her exit. "Something we'll both enjoy, I'm sure." His hands went to the button of his pants.

"No, no, I don't want to do that," the petite blonde pleaded. "You don't want to do that."

Despite her pleas, the manager moved forward unzipping his pants as he approached. "Oh, I think I do, and I think you'll enjoy it."

Her eyes widened as she realized he wasn't going to stop. "Please, no, I don't…" ignoring her begging the manager cornered Buffy between the wall and the machines.

Her protests were cut short by the sound of a gun cocking. "Hey, lard-ass, the lady said, 'no'."

The manager turned to face the interloper, "This don't concern you, kid. This is between me and blondie here. Go back to your room and forget you saw anything."

Buffy's eyes betrayed her fear. Dean considered the man in front of him, "Believe me, I want to forget this, but seein' as I've got a .45 pointed at your tiny piece of manhood, I just made it my concern." He looked at the shocked girl, "Come on, waitress, let's get you out of here. Pack up your crap, you're moving."

"Hey, just a minute, she owes me money."

"Not anymore. Don't tempt me to shoot your dick off. It's not much of a target, but I'm a hell of a shot," Dean said with a smirk.

 

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Once they got to Buffy's room, she grabbed a bag off the nearby chair and began to fill it as she opened drawers. When she grabbed a second bag and rushed to the bathroom, Buffy said, "You didn't need to do that."

Dean sighed. "I know you're probably a real bad ass, for a ninety pound five foot nothing girl, but what was I supposed to do? Let that creep molest you?"

"You don't need to get in trouble because of me." Her voice shook.

"Don't worry about me; it's nothing I can't handle."

When Buffy left the bathroom, her hands started shaking so badly she couldn't hold her bag and it fell to the ground. She covered her mouth with her hand as she fought to control her emotions. She knew she didn't need Dean to stop that man; but, would she have been able to control herself? Or would her bottled up aggression have nearly killed him?

"Hey, its okay, he's not going to hurt you now," Dean strode over to her and carefully put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He threw one bag over his shoulder, grabbed the other in his left hand and slid his hand down to her elbow. "Let's get out of here," he said quietly as he guided her to the door.

"What's going on?" Sam asked as the two entered the Winchester's room. "What happened? Are you okay?" Sam demanded, as he noticed the girl's tears.

Buffy nodded, but before she could answer, Dean entered and spoke up. "The manager tried to rape her," he said pointing to Buffy, "and I pulled my gun on him."

"Holy shit!" Sam's eyes went wide, but he nodded. "I'll pack up." He forced smile as he looked over at Buffy, then he started to pull open drawers and stuff their contents into duffle bags.

Dean led Buffy to sit on one of the beds and pulled a chair in front of her. "Look, I know I kinda made everything go from bad to worse, but I couldn't just let that guy do that."

Buffy attempted to take a deep breath, but choked on it. "I - thanks, thanks for stepping in when you did."

"It's okay," Dean spoke softly as if he were comforting a child but he was careful not to touch her. He dragged a hand through his hair as he thought. "I don't know what you're going to do now. I mean, I kinda lost you your place to stay. I guess you can hang with us if you want. At least, until you get some money for your own place." Buffy nodded as Dean continued, "I saw a place with a 'for rent' sign not too far from here. We can go check it out in the morning."

"I work in the morning, breakfast shift," she said just above a whisper.

"Uh, okay," he sighed. "Sam and I can check it out and we'll meet you after your shift."

"You don't have to do this. I get paid on Friday. I can make it 'til then."

Dean raised a skeptic brow. "Right. You really think we're gonna let you sleep in the street?" He smiled a little. "You hungry? I'm starved. Sam, what have we got to eat?"

Buffy didn't sleep much that night. She knew she had taken someone's bed, though neither brother said a word. She also knew that Dean hardly slept. He was quiet, but he split his time watching her, watching Sam and watching the door. She wondered if it was the manager that had him so worried.

 

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As the Winchesters got settled in their new accommodations, Dean told Sam about seeing Lily with the waitress. "She called her Buffy and when I asked Lily how they knew each other she lied and said just from the diner."

"So? Maybe Lily made a mistake; she doesn't strike me as the brightest crayon in the box. What did she say when you asked her about Rosalita?"

"She hadn't seen her. Lily didn't go to the blood bank with her because she's afraid of needles. Which is weird given that she has a huge tattoo on her arm."

"You thinking Lily might know more than she's letting on?"

"I don't know. The blood bank, the shelter and the place Rosa where was living share an alley." Dean thought a moment. "I'm gonna check out the blood bank and the alley. In the daylight, I might find something I missed last night."

"Okay, we can go this afternoon after Anne's done with her shift."

"Sam, I don't think this is something that should wait."

"Too bad, Dean. I don't think this is something you should do on your own."

Dean sighed knowing his brother was not going to change his mind.

 

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When Buffy's shift ended, the Winchesters were waiting to escort her to their new place. "It's not great," Sam warned, "but it has a pool."

Buffy sighed. "I could hardly afford the last place, how can I afford one with a pool?"

"You haven't seen the pool," Dean joked, smiling at her surprised expression.

"Why are you guys doing this?"

"What are we supposed to do? Let you live on the street?" Dean playfully nudged her arm.

"You don't even know me. I could be a crazy psycho killer or something," she said lightly pushing him back.

Sam looked her up and down. "Yeah, you almost look like a killer," he joked.

Buffy shrugged. "Looks can be deceiving."

Buffy examined her new 'apartment'. "It's -"

"A craphole, yeah," Dean finished for her. "But, it's cheap, mostly clean, close to the diner, and run by an elderly gay couple."

"Oh, so now you're the one who has to worry about the manager making unwanted advances," Buffy teased with something approaching a smile on her face.

"Who says they're unwanted?" Dean teased back, earning a full on smile from Buffy. "How do you think we got this sweet set up so cheap?"

Buffy nearly giggled. "Well, thanks. I appreciate you being willing to sell yourself to get me a place to stay."

"Oh, not me. I'm pimping out Sammy."

Buffy gave a small laugh and the brothers exchanged looks. "Jerk," Sam said and rolled his eyes as if the entire discussion was beneath him. "Anne, if you need anything, we're downstairs, room 12."

 

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"I'm sorry, young man, but you're too young to donate blood." The nurse smiled condescendingly at Sam. "Why don't you take a seat over there while you wait for your friend?"

Sam sighed but Dean nodded and Sam took the offered seat. Following the nurse to the other room gave Dean a chance to look around. "My friend, Lily told me about this place. She said you pay pretty well."

"Lily?" the nursed asked. "I don't remember a Lily. But, then again, there are a lot of young people who come through here." She directed Dean to a chair and had him quickly prepped. Hoping to distract the young man from the pain of the needle, the nurse began to make small talk. "So, are you from around here?"

"Not really," Dean answered hoping he had answered her questions correctly. He figured he had to fit a profile. "I kinda just arrived a couple days ago. I dropped out of school and my parents kicked me out."

The nurse gasped. "Oh, you poor dear."

"It's not so bad. I'm a little low on funds, which is why I'm here. I need some cash for food."

The nurse shook her head at his tale. "If you need a warm meal and a place to stay, there's a shelter not far from here that can take you in. It's called the Family Home. Tell them I sent you."

"Thank you ma'am, I will," Dean answered smiling the smile he knew made older women turn maternal. "Right now, I'm squatting at that building around the block."

"What about the young boy that came in with you? Is he staying there, too?"

"Yeah, we met at a rave a couple nights ago."

"He looks awfully young to be on his own."

Dean nodded. "He's fifteen or sixteen, I think. He said something about his step-dad kicking him out."

 

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"I think the blood bank is determining which kids disappear," Dean told Sam as they lurked in the alley by the tire building. "Weeding out the ones that don't fit the right profile."

"Okay, sounds reasonable," Sam agreed. "But how are they taking them and where are they going?"

Dean looked from building to building. "The tire store where they were squatting makes the most sense but," he stopped and looked back at the blood bank, "the nurse seemed to be trying to get me to go to the shelter."

"We checked the shelter, Dean. Ken seemed a bit weird, but not evil. There were also plenty of adults around. Kinda hard to kidnap a bunch of teens with so many witnesses around."

"Dean!" Lily called to them from the corner and ran to them. "Have you seen Rickie?

Dean and Sam exchanged worried looks. "Not since last night at your place."

"He wasn't there when I got back and he's not there now." Lily panicked.

"We were just at the blood bank, Lily. Rickie wasn't there, either."

Lilly looked like she was about to hyperventilate. "Oh god. Rickie wouldn't just leave me. What if he's disappeared like the others?"

"Rosa didn't come back?" Dean asked.

"No." Lily wrung her hands. "I'm going go to the diner. Buf, Anne can help me. She's super helpful."

"Good idea." Dean hoped to get Lily away from the dangerous alley. "We'll go with you."

Once at the far end of the alley, an elderly homeless woman reached for Dean. "I'm no one."

Dean shrugged her off only to halt his step a moment later. He turned abruptly and studied the woman. "Sam," he called, his eyes never leaving the woman. "You and Lily go the diner. I'm going to try to help this woman."

"Dean, now? We've got enough going on."

"Yes, now." He put a hand on his brother's shoulder and whispered, "I think she might be Rosa."

Sam gasped and looked from the woman to Dean and back. "What? How? Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Dean answered, keeping his voice low. "She's got the same six earrings and," he paused to look at the woman again, "there's something about her eyes."

Sam regarded the woman and sighed. "Okay, but, be careful Dean."

"What is it?" Lily asked. "Do you want to bring the woman with us?"

"No, I'm going to take her to the clinic. You guys go ahead, I'll catch up."

Lily stared at the woman and slowly a look of shock and recognition crossed her face. "Um, hey, we really need to talk to Anne, now."

Sam nodded. "Sure, Lily, let's go."

 

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At Helen's Diner, Buffy refilled the sugar dispensers. When the bell on the door jangled announcing a customer, she looked up and saw Sam enter with Lily. Lily walked over to her. "Buff-um, Anne? Can I talk to you?"

Buffy glanced up at her, but didn't stop her work. "Look, this really isn't a good time. Can it wait?"

Lily ignored her question. "Rickie's gone. I haven't seen him for more than a day. I-he's never left for that long. I think something's . . . happened. Maybe something's happened."

Buffy looked from Lily to Sam and back. "Well, did you call the police?"

Lily shook her head. "Rickie skipped out on his parole. Uh, they would just cause more trouble."

Buffy sighed wearily, "I don't know, did you, did you ask around?" Buffy turned to Sam. "Have you or Dean seen a guy with a tattoo on his arm? It's half a heart and says Lily in it."

"Sam hardly knows him," Lily said beginning to get aggravated with Buffy. "Can't you help me?"

Buffy shook her head and walked away, "Uh, I-I can't."

Lily followed her, leaving Sam alone at the counter. "But . . . but that's who you are and stuff, right? I mean, you help people, and, you know-"

"I can't get into this. I'm sorry, Lily," Buffy whispered.

"You, you know how to do stuff."

Buffy sighed, "I don't. Not anymore."

"But, I don't know what to do," Lily whined.

"I'm sorry." Buffy walked into the kitchen and shut the door in Lily's face.

As Sam watched the two girls talk, he realized Dean was right, they knew each other. He wondered why Lily thought Anne the waitress could help find Rickie. Lily turned her worried, confused eyes to Sam who tried to give her a reassuring smile. "Lily, why don't we check out other places you and Rickie liked to go. Maybe someone has seen him."

 

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Dean held the elderly woman's hand. "Rosa? You're gonna be okay, now. Let the nurse take a look at you." The woman stared blankly at Dean; she seemed unable to comprehend his words.

The nurse took Rosa's other hand. "Your grandson can come with us if you'd like."

Dean helped the nurse lead Rosa into an examination room and onto a cot. The nurse turned to Dean. "The doctor will be in in a minute. He's going to take good care of your grandma, don't worry."

Dean nodded his thanks as the nurse left. "Rosa, you're safe now. Tell me what happened to you. Who did this to you?"

Rosa looked at him with unfocused eyes. "I'm no one."

"No, you're my Rosalita. Come on, baby, come back to me. You can do it."

The woman shook her head slightly. "I'm no one," She repeated.

Dean gently smoothed a hand over her hair. "Rosa, you're my Rosalita," he whispered, kissing her temple. He held her and rocked her back and forth, angry that he could have let this happen.

Something in Rosa's eyes flickered. "Dean?" she murmured.

"Rosa, sweetheart, I knew you could do it." He turned to face her. "Now, tell me who did this to you. I'm gonna make the son of a bitch pay."

Rosa looked in confusion from Dean to a mirror across the room. Raising a hand to her face, she began to scream in horror. A doctor rushed into the room and forced Dean to leave.

It wasn't long until the doctor found Dean pacing in the waiting room. "I'm sorry, son, your grandmother didn't make it." Dean stormed from the building not caring that the doctor was calling after him.

 

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"Lily, we've checked everywhere. Why don't you come back with me to my motel? Dean should be back and he can help us," Sam pleaded.

Lily wiped he eyes. "No, Sam," she sighed. "It's okay. You go. I'm going to go see a friend who can help me."

"Lily, I don't think you should be alone," Sam began.

"Don't worry about me, Sam. I won't be alone. There's a lot of people at the shelter."

Sam didn't want to let Lily go to the shelter alone but, Sam also knew that Dean would kill him if he went to the shelter without him. At least the shelter is safe, Sam thought.

 

Dean paced the alley; there had to be something he missed when he found Rosalita. For the life of him, he couldn't find the tiniest clue. How did Rosa become the elderly woman roaming the alley? He dragged a hand over his face in frustration. Blood bank, shelter, place the kids were squatting. What was the connection? He was about to give up when he saw two men lead a group of tired elderly homeless looking people from shelter's back door.

"You are no one."

"I am no one," the elderly repeated.


	4. Chapter 4

note: Some of Ken's dialogue is taken directly from the episode Anne. Dean uses some language that would make my grandma blush. Sorry, if it makes you blush, too.

 

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Chapter 4

From his hiding spot, Dean watched as the men from the shelter led the vagrants to the end of the alley. Once the men returned to the shelter, Dean approached one of the elderly men. "Hey, buddy, hey are you all right?"

The man turned to Dean but did not appear to see him. "I'm no one," the man replied.

Dean looked closer at the man who responded. He roughly grabbed the man by the arm and shoved the man's sleeve up to his elbow, exposing his forearm. There Dean found a large half heart tattoo with the name Lily in its center. Dean searched the man's eyes. "Rickie?"

"I'm no one."

Lily packed her few meager belongings and left the abandoned tire store. She wiped her eyes and slumped against a storefront. Without Rickie to guide her, Lily felt lost.

Ken saw Lily wiping her tears. "Are you okay?" he asked gently.

Lily shook her head, barely able to stop crying long enough to answer.

"Hey, it's okay. Maybe I can help," Ken offered quietly. Lily shook her head, but Ken forged on. "Look, I know you all think I'm a big square handing out leaflets about hope. Nevertheless, hope is a real thing, just like despair. And hope can fill up a part of you that's missing."

Lily nodded as she listened. "But Rickie . . . "

"Rickie? Say, are you Lily?" Lily answered Ken with a smile. "Right! Right, he was talking about you."

"You've seen Rickie?" Lily asked bubbling with relief.

Ken's smile was perfectly comforting. "Oh, sure! Rickie's with us now."

Lily excitedly picked up her bag. "Can I go to him?"

"Of course." Ken smiled. "Right this way."

It was late, Dean knew where the kids were disappearing, and he knew what eventually happened to them. He crept down the alley towards the tire store. He would get back to the motel, call his dad, and tell him everything. Once John Winchester arrived, they could put an end to whatever was happening at the shelter. Reaching the street, Dean watched in fear as Ken led Lily into the shelter.

Dean knew he could no longer wait for his father.

By dawn, Sam had given up trying to sleep; he knew Dean was in trouble. Sam picked up the phone and began to dial his father. However, he hung up before touching the last number. John would kill Dean if he knew they worked a 'case' without telling him. Dean would kill him if he had called their dad without a good reason. Grabbing a gun and a knife, Sam left the motel in search of his brother.

 

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It was dark and hot and loud and the only sounds are of metal hitting metal and soft agonizing groans. Ken gripped Lily by her arm and hauled her behind him; while a figure in a dark robe followed with a bound Dean. "What's the deal? How do you make 'em old, Ken? Do you feed on youth?" Dean asked as he wrestled against his captor.

"You're in no position to be asking questions, young man."

"I always knew I would come here," Lily whined. "I knew I belonged here in hell."

Dean shook his head. "This isn't Hell."

"Isn't it?" Ken replied with a mocking smile. "What is Hell but the total absence of hope? You're right, Lily. This is where you've been heading all your life. That is why we chose you."

"Don't listen to him, Lily," Dean said before turning to Ken. "You didn't choose me, Ken."

"Oh, didn't we?" Ken sneered maliciously.

Dean's eyes widened at the demon's response, but he couldn't say anything as they had just joined a demon who led a group of teenagers onto platform. "You are no one. No one is looking for you. No one will miss you. You will live here, you will work here or you will die here. No one will know you have been here. You are no one.' The figure grabbed a boy by his shirtfront dragging him forward. "Who are you?"

"Aaron," the boy said meekly.

"You are no one!" The demon shouted its correction punctuating it with a punch to the boy's stomach. The boy collapsed with an 'uff'.

The demon stood in front of Lily. "Who are you?"

Lily trembled, "I - I'm no one."

The demon went down the line asking each teen for a name. Each teen in turn meekly answered, "No one."

The last teen looked at the demon and smirked, "I'm Dean fucking Winchester. Who the hell are you?"

The demon backhanded Dean across the face sending the boy reeling backwards. Dean lost his footing and ended up sprawled across the metal floor. "You are no one!" the demon shouted. He took hold of Dean's arm, yanked him to his feet and forced him back in line.

The demon returned to the first boy, Aaron. "Who are you?"

I'm no one," Aaron whispered with downcast eyes.

The demon nodded and strode to stand before Dean. "Who are you?"

"I told you, I'm Dean fuc-" Dean's world went black with the demon's second punch.

 

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Dean wasn't at the clinic. The tire store was empty of squatters. The blood bank was locked up tight. Sam turned and looked at the only remaining 'suspect': the shelter. Dean had to be in there.

A homeless man stumbled into the light and collapsed. On shaky legs, Sam walked over to him. "I'm no one." Sam looked down, saw the tattoo on the man's forearm, and gasped. Sam knew he wouldn't be able to save Dean by himself; he had to call John.

Racing back to the motel, Sam passed Helen's Kitchen. He skidded to a stop realizing there was one more place his brother could be.

"Anne!" Sam shouted across the diner, anxiety getting the best of him.

Buffy turned in surprise. "Sam, why are you yelling? Sit down."

"Have you seen Dean? He didn't come home last night."

Buffy sighed. "No, but you shouldn't worry. He's probably with his vampire girlfriend." She hoped her joke would ease Sam's nervousness.

Sam scowled. "Dean doesn't stay out all night without telling me. And, I know he's definitely not with Rosalita."

Buffy rolled her eyes and led Sam to a seat at the counter. "Look Sam, I'm sure your brother is just…"

"No, you don't get it. He's in trouble." Sam pushed away from the counter. "I've got to go."

Buffy stepped back to allow Sam room to leave. As soon as she did, she was nearly overcome with guilt. Hadn't Dean stepped in and protected her from the motel manager? Didn't Sam and Dean take her in and find her a place to live? Now Dean was missing just like Lily's boyfriend; Buffy just could not ignore that.

"Sam, wait!" Sam stopped at the diner door. "I'm coming." She took off her apron, and spoke to another waitress. As she and Sam left the diner she said, "Tell me why you think Dean is in trouble."

 

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Dean's head ached. Cautiously, he opened his eyes. He was in a cell in the shelter's alternate reality. He pushed himself to a sitting position, which unfortunately brought the attention of the nearest guard. The door was opened and Dean was roughly torn from the cell. Dragged to stand before the others, the demon asked Dean, "You have one more chance to answer correctly or we will make an example of you. Who are you?"

"Didn't know ugly effected hearing. I said, I'M DEAN FUCKING WINCHESTER!" Dean shouted, punctuating his statement with a shove that surprised the demon and forced it to fall back. Dean took the opportunity to run but was soon caught by two guards.

"You will regret that, slave," the demon hissed, cracking Dean across the face.

"I'm not your slave." Dean rubbed his jaw. "How do you expect to get work out of me if you keep hittting me?"

The demon sneered at him. "Time is different here, boy. What is days in your world can be decades down here." He yanked Dean by the hair. "Maybe we'll keep you young, just so the others will see what disobedience will earn. We will make an example of you, for all eternity." As the demons dragged Dean through the underground compound, he looked for Lilly and for a way out.

 

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Buffy forced Sam to let her change out of her uniform. "Sam, explain why you think Dean is in trouble."

"Teens are disappearing and then turning up again as these old homeless people. Your friend, Lily? Her boyfriend, Rickie, is one of them. I can prove it. I just saw him in the alley by the blood bank." Buffy looked at Sam in disbelief, requiring him to continue. "Look, I don't know who you are or why Lily thought you could help her, but I can't do this on my own. I've got to find Dean. He's in danger and I don't think this can wait for our dad to get here." Sam looked at Buffy with desperation in his eyes.

Buffy sighed, she couldn't bring herself to refuse him. "Fine, tell me what you think we should do."

Sam began to look hopeful. "I know Dean went back to that alley. He thought the blood bank was choosing the victims for whoever took the kids."

"All right. Let's go check out the blood bank."

Finding the door locked, Buffy jiggled the handle then tore it off the door. Sam's eyes went wide, but Buffy put a finger to her lips to silence any questions he could have had. They crept to the filing cabinet and pull out several files.

Sam took the folders over to a desk and turned on a lamp as they began to go through them. Buffy pulled out Rickie's file and opened it. As she scanned his latest donation form, it looked normal, except for the word "candidate" in the comments box. Buffy pointed out her finding to Sam. "Candidate for what?"

Sam shrugged. "Dean's file says the same thing."

Behind them, the nurse quietly entered. "What are you doing?" the nurse demanded.

Buffy barely turned. "Breaking into your office and going through your private files." Sam looked at Buffy in shock at her nonchalance. "Candidate for what?" Buffy asked pointing at the file.

The nurse stepped toward Buffy to get to the phone. "I'm calling the police."

Buffy yanked the phone off the wall and it fell to the desk with its wires torn. Buffy turned to the nurse. "Now, you've got a whole bunch of candidates here. I wonder if any of them are missing like Rickie and Dean." Buffy looked at Sam. "Gosh, I bet they are."

The nursed narrowed her eyes. "You two are getting yourselves in a lot of trouble."

"I don't want any trouble," Buffy said advancing on the nurse. "I just want to be left alone. Sit in a quiet room by a fireplace, read a good book. But, instead, I keep getting trouble, which I am more than willing to share." The nurse looked at Sam nervously, but he looked nearly as worried as she felt. "Now," Buffy moved closer to the nurse and made herself appear more menacing than her slight form should allow, "What are you doing with these kids?"

"Nothing," the nurse sputtered. "I -I just . . . I give him the names of the healthy ones."

"Who? Who are you giving them to?" Sam demanded.

 

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Dean's wrists were bound together to a cross beam above his head overlooking the main workroom. "You will learn what insubordination brings!" Ken hissed into Dean's ear.

Another hooded demon approached and began to whip Dean. After seven lashes, Ken stopped him. "Who are you, slave?"

Not wanting to give the demons the satisfaction of knowing they had hurt him, it took Dean a minute to control his voice. "Damn, what is it with you demons? You need to get your hearing checked. I told you my name twice already. Winchester, Dean Winchester."

"No! You are no one!" Ken roared in frustration then backhanded Dean across the face. "You are nothing!" The demon turned to the open floor. "You maggots think you can disrespect us?" Ken shouted to the human slaves. "We give you a home. We give you a reason to exist. No one cares about you. No one is looking for you. Your only purpose is to serve us." He grabbed Dean by the hair to yank his head to face the others. "This is what disrespect gets you. Ten more," Ken growled.

The other demon picked up the whip and began to strike Dean.

 

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Buffy and Sam stood in the dining area of the Family Home. "Well, you see, my friend, Sam, told me how wonderful you all are. And, well, I woke up and thought to myself 'what's with all the sin? I need to change. I'm a dirty, dirty girl with the sex and the drugs and' …" Buffy trailed off seeing Sam's bewildered expression. "Oh, I suck at undercover." Buffy grabbed the man's arm and in what should have been an impossible move, pinned it behind his back. "Where are you keeping the kids you take?"

"Anne?" Sam gasped.

"Where are Ken and the others?" Buffy asked slamming the much larger man into the wall.

"They are not here. They can not be found in this world."

"What does that mean? Where are you keeping my brother?" Sam pulled the gun from the waistband of his jeans.

Suddenly, it was Buffy's turn to be shocked. "Sam, no." Reaching for the gun, she had to lessen her hold on the man. The demon wrenched his arm free, shoved Buffy into Sam, and sprinted down the hall with Sam and Buffy on his heels.

They followed him into the pool room, but he was nowhere to be found. "What the hell? Where did he go?" Sam panted looking around the room.

Buffy disdainfully eyed the pool. "In my experience, pools of ucky goo, usually doorways to ucky places." She looked up at Sam, who was staring at her in wide-eyed shock. "I'm going in," she continued, "feet first and rolling left. You follow and roll right."

Sam was utterly perplexed by what 'Anne' was saying but nodded and followed her directions. They jumped and rolled and found themselves in the demon's other world. They could hear the shouts of the demons as they ordered the teenage slaves around. Buffy motioned for Sam to follow her as they crept towards the main room. Sam looked down and saw Lily struggling to push a wheelbarrow on the level below them. "Look," he whispered and pointed.

Buffy groaned at seeing Lily, but then she saw several other people working under the direction of a demon overlord.

Both Buffy and Sam quickly scanned their surroundings. "Anne, you go get Lilly and as many of the others as you can. I'm going to look for Dean. We'll meet back here and leave through that door," Sam said pointing to a door at the top of a stairway. "You think you can do that?"

"Yeah, I can do that," Buffy assured him as she hopped up. "Ready, Sam? Because I'm about to make a big distraction."

Buffy jumped to the platform below attracting the attention of humans and demons alike. She tore a large club out of the first demon's hands and used it to knock him off the platform. As the second demon moved in to attack, Buffy swung the club like a bat, knocking him off his feet. "Lily! I need you to take these people up to that level," Buffy directed as she forced the second demon off the platform.

"Me?" Lily gasped.

"You can do this, Lily, I know you can. Now go!" Lily nodded and began to grab the others.

Sam watched Buffy in astonishment as she rushed the length of the platform, battling demons and pointing people to the exit route they had planned. However, Sam also realized he didn't have time to waste, so he crept along the catwalk to the opposite end of the room. There, Sam found a row of cells, each holding two people. They stared at him, not able to believe someone was there to help them.

Sam began to pick the first lock. "When I get you out, go up to that door. We're going to get you out of here." At each cell, he was disappointed to find that Dean was not in one.

 

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Buffy silently slipped to the lower level. There, she gaped at the sight of Dean being beaten by one of Ken's minions. Once again, Ken grabbed Dean by his hair and jerked his head so that he faced forward. "Had enough? Who are you, slave?"

Dizzy with pain, Dean blinked to focus his eyes. Was he hallucinating or could he really be seeing the waitress across the room? "I'm Tommy Lee. I'm just waiting for Pamela to get here."

Ken noticed that Dean seemed to be focusing on someone in particular. Letting go of Dean, he turned to see Buffy standing on the far side of the platform. He motioned to the nearest demon. "Get that slave back to work." Then Ken took hold of Dean's jaw to force him to look at Buffy. "Watch how a slave is supposed to behave." Ken turned to Buffy and growled, "Who are you?"

"I'm Buffy," she answered, feigning sweetness with a smile, "and I'll be your slayer this evening."


	5. chapter 5

note: Again, some of Ken's dialogue is taken from the episode Anne.

Chapter 5

"Ohh," Lily whined then chewed her lip. She felt nausea creeping up. She had never been in charge of anything before, let alone other people's lives. However, Lily had gathered a crowd of slaves by the door, and now they were desperate for her to help them escape. The last thing she wanted to do was disappoint Buffy, but the stress of being the leader was causing her to unravel.

Lily looked at the door, then back at her fellow slaves. "Um, okay," she whispered. "I'm going to open the door," she asked more than said. Lily placed a trembling hand on the door's wheel and spun it cautiously.

The others held their collective breaths as the door swung open revealing the underside of the pool. Their relief was short lived for moment the door swung open, an alarm sounded. "Go! Now! Hurry!" Lily commanded the others.

Sam opened the last of the cells and helped those inside get to their feet. These people, in the last cells, were far older than the prisoners from the first cells were. "Come on, I'm here to help you escape," Sam told them as the alarm began to sound.

He assisted them to the end of the catwalk, and then noticed several demons rushing to where Lily was helping the others escape. Knowing only more demons would be joining them; Sam drew his gun, took aim and prayed that the consecrated iron rounds would hinder the encroaching demons. "Lily, get them out of here!" Sam shouted as he took down the first wave of demons. Unfortunately, Sam did not have enough ammunition to continue to provide cover for the escaping slaves.

 

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"I'm Buffy," She answered sweetly, "and I'll be your slayer this evening."

Ken's eyes widened and he released his hold on Dean. "Get that girl!" he ordered the demon.

Dean took advantage of the distraction Buffy caused and hoisted himself high enough to draw up his legs and kick Ken in the back with both feet. Ken fell face first onto the platform tearing away part of his face. "My face!" Ken screamed. He turned back toward Dean and began to pull his own face and hair off, revealing red slimy bald skin underneath. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to glue that thing on?"

Dean barely spared Ken a glance. His attention was focused on the waitress swinging a giant club at a demon like she was a star on American Gladiators. Did the girl just call herself the slayer?

On the platform, Buffy fought another guard. She quickly hit him in the head with a full spinning crescent kick, knocking him off the platform. Still another guard swung at Buffy's legs with his sledgehammer, but she jumped and swung her club into the guard's face, knocking him down. As he tried to get up, Buffy knocked him down again with a snapping roundhouse kick to his arm, kicking his hammer away in the process.

Dean couldn't believe the tiny waitress was able to defeat the demon guards so easily. "She really is the slayer," he mumbled to himself. "On your left!" he shouted as another demon jumped up onto the platform and attempted to tackle Buffy to get the hammer out of her hands. Buffy roundhouse kicked the guard's face, and he stumbled backwards.

Another demon guard tried to attack Buffy with an oversized hammer, but she held her club high, blocking his attack and making him drop his weapon. Ken was enraged. "Humans don't fight back! That's how this works!"

Buffy grabbed the demon by the neck, spun around once and threw him into a steel beam causing him to slump to the ground. Ken growled, "That . . . is not . . . permitted."

"Sorry, Ken, looks like she didn't get your memo," Dean quipped from above.

Finally, an extremely large demon guard holding a battle-ax jumped onto the platform. The guard took a wide swing with it at Buffy, but she leaned aside and he missed. Buffy managed to duck the guard's next swing, avoiding decapitation. He swung again from above, but she blocked his attack with her club, and the head of the ax embeded itself in the handle. Buffy performed a front snap kick that dislodged the ax, knocked the weapon out of the guard's hands, and sent it spinning up into the air. She knelt down and knocked his legs out from under him with her club. While she crouched, she watched the battle-ax as it fell and caught the airborne weapon. Getting to her feet, Buffy did another roundhouse kick to the demon's face, which sent him flying off the platform.

Ken motioned to another demon that warily approached the ax wielding Buffy. "Take care of that!" He ordered pointing at Buffy. Ken climbed to where Dean was still bound, when suddenly the sound of the siren made him irate. "This will not be tolerated!" Holding a knife to Dean's neck he shouted, "One of you fights . . . and you all die!"

Buffy froze, dropped the ax, and stared at Ken and Dean. The demon guard kicked the ax away and grabbed Buffy by the arms. Ken sneered at her. "You've got guts. I think I'd like to slice you open and play with them." He held up his knife and addressed everyone in the area. "Let everyone know! This is the price of rebellio-" Dean winked at Buffy, then tripped Ken and kicked him from behind. Ken fell off the platform again, this time landing on the blade of the ax. Buffy gave Dean a surprised look, and then quickly exploited the distraction and backhanded her captor in the face and then kicked it in the groin. She picked up the club and knocked the demon into the depths below.

After making sure Ken was truly dead, Buffy took his knife and climbed up the ladder to Dean. "Why did you do this on your own? You could have been killed."

"I had a plan," he replied modestly.

Buffy raised a skeptical brow. "Really? What was your plan?"

"A cute chick would come and save my ass." Dean smirked as Buffy cut through his bindings. "And look, seems to be working."

Though his compliment brought a small smile to her face, Buffy chided him. "Well, you're lucky your brother is so persuasive."

Dean nodded and followed Buffy off the platform. "It's his sad puppy eyes. No one can resist their power."

Buffy chuckled. "We must make sure he uses his power only for good."

Buffy retrieved the ax, Dean took Ken's knife, and together they made their way to the exit. Dean's mind buzzed with the knowledge of the true identity of the girl next to him. She was The Slayer; but should he tell her he knew what that meant?

"So, you're name's Buffy, huh?"

Buffy sighed, "Yeah, I'm Buffy. Don't even think of teasing -"

"I wouldn't, I like it. It suits you. You never looked like an Anne."

"Oh, I didn't?" She gazed up at him skeptically.

"No. Annes are kinda plain. Buffys, well if you're gonna go through life with a name like Buffy, you've got to be a bad ass."

She chuckled. "Bad ass?"

Dean looked her over, "You're a cute bad ass, but definitely a bad ass."

 

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When they got to the exit, a relieved Sam ran towards them. "Dean!" he shouted and went in for a hug.

Buffy stepped between them and put out a hand to stop the embrace. "No hugs, Sam. Dean's back is hurt."

Instantly, the relief left Sam's face and he attempted to check Dean's back. "Hey, Sam, it's no big deal. It's not bad at all." Dean shot Buffy an annoyed look for telling Sam about his injury, but Buffy ignored it.

"Let's get going, guys," Buffy said with a touch of authority in her voice. "You can worry about your brother as we soon as we get out of this hell hole." She practically shoved Sam up the ladder before she turned to Dean. "You go next; I want to make sure we're not followed." Buffy looked around but saw no demons following them.

An ecstatic Lily greeted them at the top, on the other side of the pool. "Oh thank god you guys made it." She hugged each of them. "Bu - Anne, look, Sam and I got everyone out!" She beamed.

Buffy grinned with pride. "Knew you could do it, Lily."

Sam stayed serious. He grabbed Dean and spun him so that he could look at the wounds on his back. "Dean, we should get you to the clinic."

Dean yanked his arm away from his brother's grasp. "Don't be stupid, Sam. I'll be fine. It looks worse than it is. What would we tell them anyway?" Sam sighed in resigned exasperation; he knew Dean had a point. Dean grabbed a jacket as they left in order to hide his back from the rest of the world.

Before Sam could argue, their attention was drawn to the pool as it sealed itself shut. The tar substance turned into brick.

 

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Back at the apartment, Sam and Buffy helped Dean into the room. "Thanks for saving me back there."

"I was just returning the favor."

Dean snorted, "Like you needed help with that manager. I probably should have let you take care of him. He'd never harass a young girl again."

"Well, you came riding in before I had to do anything. And you did get me a new place to stay."

"Dean, take off your shirt. I need to get those wounds dressed," Sam interrupted as he grabbed the first aid box.

"Sammy, I'm fine. I -'

"Bull shit, Dean. You haven't seen your back. You're pretty tore up. I should have taken you to the clinic."

Dean took a breath and hoped he could earn some sympathy from his brother. "Sam, you wanna make me feel better? Let Anne take care of my back while you and Lily go get us some chow." He wagged his brows and attempted to look like he was leering at Buffy; hoping it was enough to make his brother leave. "I've got some money in my duffel."

Buffy and Sam exchanged looks and decided to humor the injured Dean. "Fine," Sam grumbled. He dug through his brother's bag and took some of the cash he found. "Come on, Lily. Let's get some food."

Once they left, Dean slipped off the jacket and peeled off his blood soaked, shredded tee. Then, wordlessly he walked into the bathroom and sat backwards on the toilet so Buffy could tend to the welts on his back.

As she dabbed at the wounds with a damp cloth, Buffy noticed some older scars, similar to the ones from Ken. This wasn't the first time Dean had been beaten like this. She winced every time her touch made Dean hiss in pain. Finally, she had to stop. "Dean what happened? Who did this to you? Is this why you're here, just you and Sam? "No."

"Dean -"

"Forget it, don't worry about it." Dean said with a voice tinged with anger. He pushed himself up and away from Buffy. "I'm fine. It'll be fine, it'll heal, thanks."

"Dean -"

"Look," the anger in his voice dwindled as he saw her concern. "I'm not gonna ask what the Slayer is doing in L.A. pretending to be a waitress; you don't ask about this. Deal?"

Buffy could only blink at him in shock.

"Don't tell Sam," Dean begged. "Please. Just don't."

For a moment, Buffy thought Sam's puppy eyes had nothing on Dean's pleading. "Okay, I won't."

Dean looked slightly relieved. "Thanks. I promise I won't tell anyone who you are or where you are." He picked up a shirt, unsure whether he could wear it. "But, you should probably know that there are a lot of people looking for you."

Buffy took a breath as she swallowed all that Dean was telling her. "You need to let me put more of this on your back." She said holding up a tube of antibiotic cream.

Dean nodded and sat at the edge of a bed so she could tend to him. "I know you didn't skip town because you were afraid of something. I just saw you take down a mess of demons single handedly. So, whatever your reason is for leaving Sunnydale and becoming Anne, I'm sure it's a good one." His tone was understanding; he didn't sound like he was accusing her or blaming her at all.

"You know about the slayer?"

"Yeah," Dean answered. "My dad's a hunter. He and a couple other guys are working in Sunnydale, right now. Trying to do what you do." Dean almost chuckled. "It's kinda funny that a tiny thing like you can kick more ass than my dad and the other hunters."

Buffy's mouth fell open in shock, but she said nothing. Instead, she occupied herself with applying ointment to Dean's wounds. After covering Dean's wounds with gauze and tape, Buffy quietly said, "All done."

Dean grimaced as he pulled the shirt over his head. "Sam and I are parked here so that while my dad is working up in Sunnydale, I can get my G.E.D. I'm supposed to have that," he pointed to a book on the nearby table, "memorized so that I can pass my test next week."

Buffy looked amused. "How's that coming along?"

"It's not."

"Well, at least with how banged up you are, you'll have nothing better to do than study," Buffy said with a small smile.

Dean sighed wearily, not returning her smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He thumbed through the manual. "I don't get it. When am I ever going to need to know this stuff?" He sat on the bed with the open manual in his lap.

"Next week," Buffy teased, "you said so yourself." Dean smirked at her comment.

 

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Dean grinned at his brother. "Tell you what, Sammy, I get the next one right, you gotta get the laundry. Deal?"

"And if I get it right?" Buffy asked smiling.

"If Anne gets it right, before I do, I do her laundry," Dean replied grinning at the girl.

Buffy laughed. "That's just an excuse to see my underwear," she teased.

The Winchesters looked at each other and shrugged. "So?" they asked in unison making Buffy laugh harder.

"How about you cover the cost of doing my laundry?" Buffy suggested.

"I guess we can do that." Dean turned to his brother. "Find a good one, quiz master."

Sam flipped the page in the test practice booklet. "Name the steps of cell mitosis in order." Buffy gaped at Sam.

"Are you serious? When the hell am I going to need to know that?" Dean demanded.

"Right now, if you want me to do the laundry," Sam goaded.

Dean rolled his eyes and dragged a hand through his hair. "Fine, uh, mitosis, there's four steps."

Suddenly Buffy interrupted loudly, "Anaphase, metaphase, prophase, telophase!"

Dean's mouth fell open and he looked at Sam, but his brother was shaking his head. "Sorry, incorrect." He looked pointedly at his older brother. "Dean?"

"Prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, in that order."

The brothers grinned at each other. "That's correct, sorry Anne."

Buffy looked back and forth from brother to brother. "I think some cheating's going on."

"No, I promise. You really think I want to do the laundry?" Sam asked as he dropped the book on the bed. "Speaking of, I should go check on it now."

Once Sam left, Buffy confronted Dean, poking him in the chest. "You guys were cheating, I don't know how, I just know you were."

Dean laughed, "No, I swear. You said them I just knew it wasn't in the right order."

Buffy narrowed her eyes as if she didn't believe him. "The idea of someone at least paying for my laundry must have distracted me too much."

"Talking about your underwear distracted me a little, too." Dean joked. "You want to win? We could try strip studying," he suggested and grinned at her blush. "Well, you stripping would make it difficult for me to concentrate. You'd win easy."

Buffy blushed a bright red and slapped his arm lightly, "Dean!"

An unexpected sound at the door had Dean on his feet, gun in hand. He even went as far as to push Buffy behind him. When his father walked in Dean straightened even more. "Sir! You're back.

John nodded a curt, "Dean." Then he looked around. "Where's Sam?"

"He's taking care of the laundry," Dean answered noticing his father was glaring at Buffy. "This isn't what it looks like, sir."

"Good, because it looks like you're alone with an underage girl in our room, Dean."

"Yes, Sir, but," Dean glanced at Buffy, "she and Sam were just helping me study."

John continued to look annoyed. "I think it's time she leaves."

"Mr. Winchester - ," Buffy began but was silenced by Dean's hand on her arm.

"Thanks for your help," Dean said with a tight smile, hoping Buffy would cooperate and leave without another word. Dean didn't want to lie to his father and he didn't want to betray Buffy's trust.

"I have to get ready for work soon anyway." Buffy added with a shrug. "Nice meeting you, Mr. Winchester."

Sam walked in with the basket of laundry. "Hey, Dad."

"Sam."

As Buffy brushed passed him, Sam asked, "You're leaving?"

Buffy nodded. "Time to get ready for work."

Sam looked at the occupants of the room and thought his dad must have said something. "Sam, if you're doing laundry, grab my bag from the backseat, would ya?"

Sam groaned as if the request was too much to bear. "Sure, Dad." He set the basket of clean clothes on the bed for Dean to deal with and retrieved the bag of his father's clothes.

 

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A Winchester family tradition, set long before Dean had started doing the wash, was that anything left in the pockets became the property of whoever was doing the laundry. At first, John used it to remind the boys that crayons, legos and army men did not belong in the washing machine. Then, Dean used it to obtain money from his dad and matchbox cars from his brother. By the time, Sam was old enough to do the laundry; it was rare that a Winchester left anything in a forgotten pocket. Therefore, Sam was quite surprised when he pulled a folded paper from his father's pocket.

Sam was more surprised to see that it was a missing person flyer showing a picture of Anne the waitress also known as Buffy Anne Summers.


	6. chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sam folded the missing persons poster and stuffed it into his pocket. Holy shit! There was only one reason his father would be carrying that poster around: that missing girl was the Slayer. Sam was beside himself with excitement. Anne was Buffy and Buffy was the Slayer! He could hardly wait to tell Dean.

 

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Back in the Winchester's room, John noticed Dean's stiff movements. "Kid, what happened? You're moving around like an old man."

"It's nothing, really." Dean's mind raced to find an acceptable cover story. "It's just a sunburn. I fell asleep by the pool the other day." In his head, Dean repeated 'please buy it, please buy it'.

John shook his head; at least once a summer, while Dean was growing up, the boy would burn. John thought that by this age Dean would know better. "Having yourself a nice little vacation, huh?"

"No sir, just that studying for this test is boring and I kinda fell asleep in the sun."

His dad looked at the test manual Sam left open on the bed. "When's this test?"

"Day after tomorrow."

"Hmm," John nodded. "We've got to get going and get Sam signed up for school."

"Where are we going? Sunnydale?"

"I don't know. All I know is I need a shower and some sleep. I don't even know in what order. You think you can take that book outside to study without getting burned?"

"Yes, sir, no problem. Glad you're back."

 

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Rushing back to their room, Sam was wondering how he could let Dean know what he had discovered without their father finding out that the Slayer was the girl that had just been in their room. Suddenly, Sam was hit with a troubling thought; why had the Slayer left Sunnydale? If he told Dean Anne's true identity, Dean would tell their dad. Dean thought their dad was infallible and their dad would probable confront the girl and try to force her back to Sunnydale. After Anne had risked everything to save his brother's life, Sam was not willing to endanger her.

Sam found Dean leaning a chair against the wall of the building, reading the test booklet. "Hey Sammy, Dad's trying to get some rest, so hang out here for a while, okay?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah, sure. Did you see if Anne went to work yet?"

"Don't know, didn't see her. Why?"

Thinking quickly Sam answered, "Uh, there was some girlie stuff left in one of the dryers, thought it might be hers. I'll go on up and ask."

"Maybe it belongs to Walter or Jonathon," Dean suggested with a grin.

"Dude, thanks for that troubling image." Sam shuddered.

Dean laughed. "Hey, told Dad I fell asleep in the sun and got real bad sun burn," Dean added in a hushed voice.

Sam nodded his understanding as he climbed the steps to Anne's room.

Buffy welcomed him with a cheerful smile. "What can I do for you, Sam?"

Sam brushed passed her into her room, looking around for Lily. "Lily here?"

"No, she's talking to Jonathon about a job. Why?"

Sam pulled the poster from his pocket and handed it to her. "My dad had this in the pocket of jeans."

Buffy stared at her picture and sat on her bed. "Oh." She went numb. They were looking for her, at least. Her heart broke when she took notice of the phone number listed on the flyer. It belonged to Giles. Her mother wasn't looking for her; her job was. She took a stuttering breath then plastered on a fake smile. "Why'd they have to use my yearbook picture? Yuck."

Sam wasn't put off by her attempt at a joke. "Look, Anne, Buffy, whatever, I need to tell you something. See, my dad is a hunter. Dean and I have grown up in this life, you know, knowing what's really out there." He ignored Buffy's surprised expression. "I won't tell anyone, not Dean, not my dad; but you should stay away from them. I don't think my dad recognized you when he saw you before, but, if he has any more of these posters, he'll show them to us and ask if we've seen you." Sam paused and ran a hand through his hair. "I know Dean. He's dad's golden boy, his perfect little soldier. He won't lie to dad about something this important."

Buffy stared at Sam. Dean had kept his promise; he hadn't even said a word about her identity to Sam. "Okay," she said at last. "I can't exactly move out, but I can stay away from you guys."

"Good. Sorry, though, I liked hanging out with you," Sam admitted with a sheepish smile. But, he noticed how tense she looked. "If this was my dad's top priority, he wouldn't have left it in the pocket of some jeans; we'd have heard about it the moment he walked in the door."

Buffy stuffed the poster in her uniform pocket as Lily walked in the door. "Sam, Anne, guess what? They gave me the job. You're looking at the new maid." Lily bowed as she made her announcement.

"That's great, Lily. I'll see you later, Anne," Sam said as he pulled the door shut behind him.

 

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John Winchester lay on the bed making notes in his journal. Sunnydale had been quite the experience; he wasn't keen on returning any time soon. He hoped the slayer returned soon, one hunter had died and a few more had been injured while she was gone.

Dean's question earlier had made John think. Should he return to Sunnydale with the boys? Dean could probably hunt with him while Sam attended school. He flipped through some news clippings. Sure, he thought, Sam could go to school there, as long as it wasn't Sunnydale High, the school with the nation's highest mortality rate.

 

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Later that night, Dean stood up from the couch, which had become his bed since his father's return, and out of habit, grabbed the room key from the top of the television. "Where are you going?" John demanded as Dean's actions attracted his attention.

Dean blinked at his father's question. He had been so used to his routine, he had forgotten about explaining it to his father. "Anne's shift is almost over. Sam and I walk her home at night. You know, not a good neighborhood and all."

"You both don't have to go."

"Right," Dean sighed. "Sam, you go."

Sam stood, took the key from Dean and headed out the door. "No, Dean. Sam's been running all day doing laundry then picking up our take out. You go, make yourself useful."

Sam sighed and returned the key. Dean shrugged at his brother and left.

Buffy smiled the moment she saw him take a seat in the booth by the door. "I wasn't expecting to see you."

Dean returned her smile. "I still have to make sure you get home safely, Anne."

"I'm leaving, Mitch!" Buffy shouted over her shoulder as Dean stood and held the door open for her.

Once out on the sidewalk, Buffy quickly said, "Sam knows I'm the Slayer."

"I didn't -" a shocked Dean began, but Buffy pulled the poster from her pocket.

"I know, Sam showed me this."

Dean studied the poster. "Where'd -"

"Your dad left it in a pocket or something," she answered before he even asked.

"Shit." Dean dragged a hand over his head. "My dad must not have remembered this or he'd have recognized you in our room earlier."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, that's what Sam said. That's why I was surprised to see you."

"Surprised, why? What else did Sam say?"

"That I should stay away from all of you so that your dad doesn't recognize me and you don't turn me in."

"Turn you in?" Dean huffed, paused and shook his head in disgust. "I can't believe he thought -" Dean blew out a breath and Buffy noticed the immediate change in his demeanor. "Sam doesn't trust me," Dean said with a note of disbelief in his voice.

"You didn't tell him about me, either," she offered in defense of Sam and in the hope it soothed Dean's feelings.

"Because you and me had a deal, not because I thought Sam would tell our dad." He handed the paper back to Buffy who folded it and stuffed it in her pocket. "Well, at least you know they're looking for you, want you back."

"Not my mom, though. That's my watcher's number. My mom," Buffy's voice broke and she felt tears burn in her eyes. "My mom told me if I left, I should never come back." She looked up at Dean, hoping he would understand. "But I had to leave. I had to do my job."

Stunned to see her tears, Dean put a hand tentatively on her shoulder. "Hey," he murmured while rubbing her shoulder. "Hey, is that why you left? Something happened with your mom?" He asked so softly, so sympathetically Buffy began to cry harder. Dean wrapped an arm around her and led her out of the path of sidewalk traffic to rest against a building. She buried her face in his chest and cried until his shirt was damp.

Once she felt that she had cried herself out, Buffy pulled away from him and wiped her eyes. "Sorry," she croaked as she returned to their path home with her arms wrapped around herself.

Dean walked next to her in silence for a minute. "Hey, look, I know I don't know exactly what happened, but maybe it's not as bad as you think."

Irritated with what she thought was condescension; Buffy sniped, "Not bad? Do you even know what my job is? Do you know what I had to do to save the world and stop it from going to hell?" Buffy barely kept her anger in check but she lowered her voice. "I had to kill my boyfriend, the first guy I ever loved. I had to kill him so that he wouldn't open a door to hell and destroy the world."

Dean could only stare at her, overwhelmed by what she had just confessed. "Shit, Buffy, you're just a kid."

"Just a kid?" Buffy glared at him in anger.

Dean ignored her rebuke. "You're seventeen. You should be worrying about prom and pimples and shit like that. But, instead you've got to," he paused, still unable to believe the girl in front of him had to do what she was forced to do. Buffy's anger began to fade as Dean continued, "You have this huge responsibility of saving the whole fucking world. How is that fair?"

They walked in silence for a block; both too busy thinking to talk. "You know what my job is?" Dean asked, interrupting quietly. "For pretty much my whole life, my job has been to look after Sammy."

Dean stuffed his hands in his pockets and his voice became quieter. "When I was seventeen, my dad left me in charge and went on a hunt in Santa Fe. I'm way more interested in girls than in babysitting Sammy. I hardly pay any attention to the kid; Sammy gets tired of being ignored and takes off. I can't find him anywhere. I went out of my freakin' mind looking for him. Hell, I thought he was dead. When my dad came back and I still hadn't found Sammy, he- ." Dean's breath hitched and he looked away. His voice became very quiet, "Well, he let me know that if something happened to Sam, I'd wish I ," Dean coughed. "So, can you imagine how I'd fuck it up if I had to do what you do?"

"Your dad did that to you?"

Dean didn't answer he just looked anywhere but at her.

"Dean it wasn't your fault Sam ran away."

"Yeah, it was. If I had done my job and looked after him, Sam wouldn't have left. I let him down. Let my dad down. I guess it figures Sam wouldn't trust me. I'm an expert at disappointing people that depend on me."

"Dean." Buffy said quietly, wanting to erase the broken look on Dean's face, but she didn't know how.

"Don't." Dean sighed, looking away, unable to stomach the look of pity on her face. "Sam and my dad, they're all I've got. And the thing is when Sam turns eighteen, he's gone. He's never wanted to be a hunter; he wants a normal life - go to college, get a job. Once Sam's gone, my dad won't need me around anymore. Then I've got nothing. All I know is hunting, it's all I've ever been good at. At least, I thought I was good at it, until I needed you to come save my ass." He smirked as he finished, but it wasn't playful like before.

Buffy considered what Dean was telling her. If he was being this honest, she could be honest, too. "Dean," Buffy began again, "it was my fault my boyfriend tried to end the world. He lost his soul because of me. He turned into a monster, because of me." The curse and Angel's soul and how he lost it was a story Buffy wasn't ready to explain.

Dean studied her for a minute. "No, I don't believe that. Maybe you made a mistake, but you didn't force him to become evil, Buffy. He chose to do what he did. You can't blame yourself for what someone else did."

"Then neither can you, Dean." Buffy replied quietly.

As they approached the small motel, Dean turned to her. "I bet your watcher altered the flyer. I'm sure the guy wouldn't want a bunch of skuzzy hunters calling your mom and scaring her to death."

Buffy's expression turned the slightest bit hopeful. "Really? You think so?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, of course. It's something my dad would do." When they arrived at her door, Dean added, "Well, I guess we should follow Sam's plan which means I won't be seeing you anymore. It's not like you need someone to protect you and walk you home, right?" He gave her a small smile and walked away. Turning back he said, "Take care of yourself, all right? And don't worry, I won't tell Sam you told me anything."

 

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The next morning, Buffy looked out her window and saw the big black car that belonged to Mr. Winchester was gone. Bounding down the stairs, Buffy was determined to let the brothers know that they didn't need to keep secrets from each other. She was going to return to Sunnydale.

After no one answered their door, Buffy hoped they were only gone for breakfast. Climbing the stairs to her room, Buffy was stopped by Lily. "If you're looking for Sam and Dean, they checked out this morning. Sam gave me this envelope to give to you."

Opening it, Buffy found a note that said she should keep in touch, an address for Sam Winchester and phone number scrawled across the bottom.

The End?

a/n: Though I never thought John Winchester was an abusive parent, there's a scene in 'Dark Side of the Moon' in which the boys talk about the time Sam ran away. I blame Jensen's acting for making me think that John may have taken things too far that time.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.


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